While there have been calls to impose a minimum age limit for private-hire car drivers, younger drivers interviewed hope there will not be any such restrictions.

They say driving is a good source of income and can be a viable career.

Full-time limousine drivers like Mr Muhammad Izzuddin Abdul Latiff, 29, said if an age limit of 30 were imposed, he would be affected as such drivers also require a private-hire car driver's vocational licence.

Cabbies currently have to be at least 30 years old, but private-hire drivers just have to hold a driving licence for at least two years. They can get the licence from age 18.
Four MPs raised concerns about the low minimum age of private-hire drivers when Parliament debated the Point-to-Point Passenger Transport Industry Bill this month.

Four MPs raised concerns about the low minimum age of private-hire drivers when Parliament debated the Point-to-Point Passenger Transport Industry Bill this month.

The legislation, which was passed, requires private-hire car companies, such as Grab and Gojek, to be licensed. But it did not address the issue of raising the minimum age of private-hire drivers.

For full-time private-hire driver Cedric Lim, who shares the sentiments of young drivers interviewed, the take-home pay is enough to make it a viable career.

An engineering graduate, he said he became an Uber driver in 2015 because of his "low starting pay" as an engineer.

Although the performance-based incentives that drew him initially to the sector have decreased, he can still make around $3,000 a month.

"If I want to earn more, I just drive more," he said, adding that he drives for both Grab and Gojek.

Lawyer Kenneth Chen, 29, who drove for Uber for more than a year in his undergraduate days, said it was more lucrative than other part-time jobs, like that of a waiter.

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